Xiǎo hé tǎng shuǐ| Chinese Folk Songs Project

Xiǎo hé tǎng shuǐ (Flowing River)
From Yunnan Province

This beautiful Yunnan folksong has a touching melody. The idea of a young woman
looking at the moon and thinking of her true love and the longing comes through in the
calls to him “Gē a!” The culture and the people are very important and
feature prominently in songs from Yunnan.

Pinyin Version

Ai!
Yuè liàng chū lái liàng wāng wāng, liàng wāng wāng,
xiǎng qǐ wǒ di ā gē zài shēn shān,
gē xiàng yuè liàng tiān shàng zǒu tiān shàng zǒu.
Gē a! Gē a! Gē a!
Shān xià xiǎo hé tǎng shuǐ qīng yōu yōu.

English Translation

The bright moon rises over the river.
The moon reminds me of my love who is deep in the mountains.
He is the moon walking across the sky
Do you hear me singing your name by the river?